Braised Lamb with Figs

Ingredients

• 800 g lamb meat (shank or shoulder, ready to cook)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 100 g smoked bacon cubes
• 2 tbsp flour
• 200 ml red wine
• 400 ml beef broth
• 200 ml tomato juice
• 200 g fresh figs (finely diced)
• 0.5 untreated orange
• 0.5 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Cloves
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped marjoram
• 400 g fresh pearl onions
• Sea salt
• black pepper (ground)
• 8 ripe, halved figs
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the meat, pat dry, cut into large pieces and sear in hot olive oil. Peel the garlic, slice it, add with bacon and cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over, let brown slightly, then deglaze with red wine and broth. Add tomato juice, diced figs, orange half, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, and marjoram; cover and simmer on low heat for about 1½ hours.

2. 2.

   For easy peeling, boil the pearl onions for about 2 minutes, drain, rinse under running water, trim the root end and gently press out the onion from its skin.

3. 3.

   Remove the orange half, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and cloves from the stew and season with salt and pepper.

4. 4.

   To serve, sauté the fig halves with the onions in butter, dust with powdered sugar and caramelize. Spoon the stew onto a plate, arrange the figs with onions on top, garnish with marjoram and serve.